Native American Nature

In Nature and Culture in the Early Modern Atlantic, historian Peter C. Mancall reveals how Europeans and Native Americans thought about a natural world undergoing rapid change in the century following the historic voyages of Christopher Columbus. Through innovative use of oral history and folklore maintained for centuries by Native Americans as well as original use of manuscript atlases, paintings that depict European representations of nature, and texts that circulated across the ocean, he reveals how the encounter between the old world and the new changed the fate of millions.

For thousands of years, the Elwha river flowed north to the sea. The river churned with salmon, which helped feed bears, otters, and eagles. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, known as the Strong People located in the Pacific Northwest, were grateful for the river's abundance. All that changed in the 1790s when strangers came who did not understand the river's gifts. The strangers built dams, and the environmental consequences were disastrous.

Every critter has their own kind of music, but they still gotta choose. Buzz ‘bout the mud and bad weather...or sing ‘bout the good stuff we share in the dat ole bayou. In this Cajun fable, M’sieu Fly wakes up one morning to find that all his friends are missing. During his search - which takes him from Louisiana bayou to the moon - M’sieu Fly discovers what’s important in life and how to both get and keep friends.

Everyone knows how rude and grumpy bears can be if they don't get enough sleep! When a bad-tempered bear trips over a tiny turtle, no one can foresee the consequence. When Turtle challenges Bear to a race along the lakeshore, Bear is confident about the outcome. But Turtle is smarter than Bear can imagine.